What Broncos' Starting Quarterback Decision Means for New York Giants Defense

Nick Falato offers his take on the Broncos decision to name Teddy Bridgewater as the starting quarterback and what that means for the Giants for Week 1.

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos have announced their week one starter as Teddy Bridgewater, as 2019 second-round pick Drew Lock will be starting the season behind the veteran signal-caller. Bridgewater is the more conservative and safer quarterback of the duo.

Bridgewater was drafted at the end of the first round by the Minnesota Vikings in 2014. He's 28-years-old and has overcome a devastating knee injury that led him to journeyman status. He was briefly with the Jets in training camp before New York received a sixth-round New Orleans pick.

He started four 2019 games for the Saints, winning all four when Drew Brees was ailing with a thumb injury. Bridgewater threw for nine touchdowns and only two interceptions in that time frame. 

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That success led him to start in Carolina last season, where he had a fifteen to eleven touchdown to interception ratio. He doesn't have a Drew Lock type of arm in terms of velocity, distance, or power, but he can keep an offense on script and doesn't make many mistakes.

He is the anthesis of Lock in terms of skill-set, and that could be one reason why the Broncos traded for him in the off-season. Head coach Vic Fangio would instead roll the dice with a less mistake-prone, lower upside type of quarterback rather than going with the high ceiling of Lock, albeit reports suggest that Bridgewater was only slightly better than Lock throughout training camp.

I would have rather seen Lock starting for the Broncos when Denver visits MetLife Stadium. Lock struggles with turnovers, and the Giants defensive personnel, along with their excellent coordinator, does a good job forcing turnovers. 

Lock threw 15 interceptions last season and fumbled the ball eight times--he was only sacked 19 times last season, as opposed to the 45 sacks Jones suffered. Sacks are also a quarterback stat, but it's evident that Lock isn't maneuvering the pocket like a seasoned veteran when watching the tape.

With that stated, Lock was significantly more efficient when kept clean and graded well, according to Pro Football Focus. However, when under pressure, he was a disaster, and Bridgewater graded higher than Lock--and we're hoping to see a lot of pressure come Week 1, regardless. 

Lock was the worst-graded quarterback under pressure last season and the worst when the defense brought five or more players on the blitz.

During his time with Carolina, Bridgewater was graded at 16th worst against pressure and fifth-worst against the blitz out of the quarterbacks that saw at least 20% of their teams' snaps. Lock has a slightly higher aDot (average depth of target), which isn't a surprise, and Bridgewater had more yards on the ground than Lock in 2020.

Overall, Week 1 is a winnable game if the offense can do anything against the Broncos' defense. The combination of Jerry Jeudy, a healthy Courtland Sutton, K.J. Hamler, and Noah Fant at tight end, along with a running back duo of Melvin Gordon and rookie Javante Williams should not be overlooked. 

They have a very skilled group of offensive weapons with a good play-caller in Pat Shurmur.

Despite that fact, the game is still winnable at home. The Giants' defense has added a lot of talent. If Adoree Jackson is healthy, then the receiving trio doesn't scare me as much as if he can't play, and the Giants are forced to start either Julian Love or Rodarius Williams on the outside. 

It may be a bit more challenging to force Bridgewater into mistakes, but it's not impossible. I expect Patrick Graham and his unit to be ready for Week 1. Let's hope the offense gets healthy fast and that Daniel Jones can take the next step in his development. 

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